Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is accusing the Trump administration of illegally withholding federal funds meant for crime victims in Illinois.
Raoul said on Monday that he has joined a multistate lawsuit challenging an administration policy that ties eligibility for funding under the 1984 Victims of Crime Act to each state’s willingness to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement policies.
That policy is part of the Trump administration’s overall policy of withholding federal funds from so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. Illinois expects to receive about 54 million dollars from the Victims of Crime Act program for the current fiscal year for support services for crime victims. Since Trump took office in January, Raoul has joined 35 lawsuits challenging various administration policies
